Is the week over yet?

I know it is only Tuesday, but I am exhausted. I got a flu shot today at the firm, and I have to say that I have had an enormous headache ever since lunch time... Coincidence? Maybe... Oh well. I guess I will have to curl up with my book and just relax for the evening. Ha ha haaa. I couldn't even say that with a straight face. Ya.

I have cookies to bake for Halloween parties on Friday, and I need to get a jump on that. It was sooo easy when I only had one kid in school Bella's pre-school did not allow treats unless it was a birthday or year end party. Now in kindergarten, it has all changed. So with 20 little K kids and 24 Gr 4 kids, that's a lot of cookies to bake... And we carved pumpkins today after school. Had to get that out of the way. I went a little overboard with the pumpkins this year. We only carved 2 - not my thing to do - but I bought like 10 of them. I just really love how they look all bunched up around my steps and my porch and my front door. I am not a Halloween person honestly - I don't like costumes and dressing up; and I really don't like the decorations. I don't like all the morbid things - skeletons and grave markers, etc. And I find the majority of the commercial decorations so very cheesy. So my decorations just tend to be harvesty. Pumpkins everywhere - all shapes and sizes and colours. Works for me.

Not much else to say. Hope everyone is doing well out there in cyberland. Give me a shout and let me know how y'all are!

Ciao all.

Around my house today...

You will find:

Ethan building castles out of wooden blocks. These blocks belonged to Marc's cousin Ian when he was a wee one. Zia Connie and Uncle Ian Sr. passed these on to us when Ethan was about 2 years old. They are, by far, his MOST favourite toy to play with to this day. He can spend hours building these castles. And then Bella knocks them down. hee hee

My new cabinet. I love it. Totally. It was exactly what I wanted for the space. As you can see it is not a particulary large space, and so I had to be creative. This fit the bill - in more ways than one! I am a big fan of things coming together.

And cookies. Sugar cookies. But no pictures as they are not done. On Sunday our Primary is doing a presentation and the cookies are rewards for the kids working so hard this past month to get everything done. I am not above a little bribe here and there to get things done! And to make children behave... Oh, come on. Don't be shocked. Y'all know you do it too!! hee hee

Ciao all.

Hooked...

I am slow to catch on. I will be the first to admit it. Unless it has to do with fashion, footwear or home trends, I don't pay attention. I also will NEVER do what someone tells me to do - especially if someone recommends a book to read and gushes that it is the best book ever, or promises I will totally love it.... Ya. No. Wrong person to tell that to. If you say black, I will say white. I don't trust many people. No, let me rephrase that. Other than my husband, I don't trust anyone. You may think you know me, but you don't. So a few months ago the reading club at church read this book. They all thought it was great. The gals were talking non-stop about it. Vampires? Love story? Really???!!! I avoided it like the plague. But on the weekend I picked it up. I was bored. What to do... Totally HOOKED now! I read the book in less than two days. And now I am on to the second one in the series. And the movie comes out next month. Awesome! But I have to say that my first reaction was not one of liking. I find the character Bella really painful. Her extreme clumsiness and anger issues and general anti-social tendencies really rub me the wrong way. Her lack of self confidence just makes me cringe. And then I think HOW could a character like Edward like her so much?? How could such an equisite specimen be drawn to miss plain jane?? Wouldn't she drive him away? The damsel in distress theme goes a bit too far... I could not relate to this character at all (still can't), but I felt that I was invested and so I pushed pass that and read on. I am glad I did in the end. It was a good read. Good escape. Didn't have to pay attention to too much detail. Always like that. Please remember: I read for a living! And it is not light or easy. I read medical reports and clinical records and case law and judgements and letters upon letters... So in my "free time" I like to be entertained. This book did entertain me. And it was clean! No swearing. No suggestive sexuality. Big bonus!! So now I will read the entire series and I will watch the movie when it comes to theatres. I have to convince my sister and my cousin to read the books now so we can go to the movie together! I need to drag others into this mini-obsession now! I can't go down alone... ha ha

Anyone else read the book/series? What do you think? Would love to know.

Ciao

Saturday Stuff...

It is one of those days around the Officer household. There is much to do, but not so much energy to do it. So I have sent Marc and Ethan out to do a few things and Bella and I have stayed home to do some things. By the end of the day it will all be done. It always is. The laundry is done and the beds are stripped and re-made, and cookies are baked and lunch is starting and the bills have been paid. You know. Stuff. It's all good. It has to be done. Not everyday can be glamourous!! hee hee

I thought I would share a few more photos from Ethan's trip. This is Ethan and my mom and my Zia Maria at the Vatican. Totally cool. It is gorgeous.

This is Ethan and my mom in Altilia. That road is over 1000 years old. Way cool. I am a history major - to be exact, Ancient Greece and Rome to the First Millenium. I spent YEARS studying about Roman building habits and methods and tools and strategies. For Ethan to be here is just so amazing to me. I have been to Altilia a few times myself. But it is something so much more satisfying when your child experiences something that you are passionate about, and he thinks it is cool too!!

Well I have thank you cards to make and send to my sweet sweet family in Italy.

Have a good day all.

Ciao

My Clan

I love this picture. To me, this is what Ethan's trip was all about. This is my family. These are some of the people I love more than anything in this world. They are:

Left to Right:
Davide (great-granchild)
Sofia (great-granchild)
Angela (Davide's mom)
Marianna (Sofia's mom)
Stefi
Federica
Alessandra
Angelo
Marilena
Ethan (great-granchild)
Francesco
Nonno in the middle

Missing is me and my sister Laura and my youngest cousin Luca, who is only one year older than Ethan. And then also missing is Bella, my nephew Matthew and my niece Emelia, the other three great-granchildren. That would be all of us. And one day soon we will have a picture with ALL of us!! I can't wait for that day.

Gorgeous, aren't they?!!

Ciao all

Italy

Now does this just SCREAM Italy or what??!! My mom and dad came over this morning and we downloaded all the pics off their camera onto my computer. Fabulous!! I am so thrilled to see all the places they went. And to see all my family again. I miss them sooo much. I can't begin to explain the hole that is in my heart knowing these people live a life that I have nothing to do with on a day to day basis. And I am sure it is the same for them. We live a life here and they don't partake in it. What can you do when you are oceans away... But now Ethan has gone and met them all, and now he is a part of their lives, and it is just so wonderful to have that connection. So I will begin to share pics here and there with y'all. That's my mama and Ethan in Pisa just before Ethan climbed the tower. Amazing.

Ciao all.

Happy Long Weekend - Happy Thanksgiving

The week has flown by. Ethan has adjusted just fine to normal life. He even had two tests in the four days he was back at school and aced them both. He is a super smart kid. He will go far in life. Do I sound like I am boasting? I am not really. He just IS smart. He is gifted. We should all be so lucky... He will do great things. But he is not gifted in the picture taking department. I got his pics developed and I was upset . Really disappointed. He did what a 9 year old boy would do with a camera - took pics of things that make no sense... So now it is up to my mom and dad to produce copies of the pics that I can eventually share. Now, I do have to give Ethan credit for taking pics of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (totally great postcard shot!!) and some really cool pics in Altilia - the Roman outpost. But they don't translate well being scanned in. They were taken the "old fashion" way - film. hee hee They will make great layouts though, so after I wrap myself around that, I will share.

While Ethan was in Italy he grew out of his dress shoes. So this morning we packed up and headed to the mall to go shoe shopping. Well, one kid can't get shoes only! Ethan ended up with a gorgeous pair of Sunday shoes and Bella got a pair of mini Uggs, black - super sweet!! - and I bought a new pair of shoes. Oh ya. They are made by Roberto Vianni and they are cow hide! No joke. They are brown and white cow hide pattern. I adore them. It is not right to be in love like I am with shoes... I could not resist. BUT I did have a coupon for $20 off the pair, so I did get them for under $100... Good deal!! hee hee Oh boy... I will have to take a pic of them and post for y'all to see.

And Marc's poor little beater car needed new tires, so we did that today also. Such is life. There are two places I hate spending money - the computer and the car. But can't get away from either. Necessary evils in life... I can't complain though. We are really blessed to have such a great car for Marc. It is fantastic. It does the job it needs to do. One day Marc can have a pretty car like mine. But not today. And now he has four brand new all season tires, so he doesn't have to fear for his life driving this winter!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone. We are blessed to be able to celebrate it twice - tomorrow with my family and Monday with Marc's family. I always joke about moving away from here. But the truth is that I never could. I love having my family down the street. I love having Marc's family minutes away. I need them. Every single one of them. They all perform vital roles in my life and the lives of my children. I cannot do this - live this life - without them. I hope you can count your many blessings this weekend and name them one by one.

Ciao all.

He's home...

And all is back to normal. It is amazing how fast things just return to normal, even after 5 weeks of not being normal. Ethan had an amazing time in Italy. He did not want to come home. He said he missed me and Marc, but honestly, he could have stayed with my family. And they wanted to keep him. Very sweet. Now I have to get all Ethan's pics developed. I am really excited to see everything. I am especially excited to see pics of my family members. I miss them all so much. So Ethan came home loaded with goodies for everyone. Some of the highlights: new earrings and bracelets for Bella; new Armani sunglasses for me; chocolates; new shoes; new tie for Marc and a bracelet; tons of new clothes; a Berger Lampe for me; the list goes on! Spoiled. We all are.

Happy to have him home.

Ciao all.

Where in the World is Ethan O....

You guessed it - Roma!! My son is finally coming home. He arrives Monday night some time - not quite sure when. Seems Alitalia is on strike, so their flight out of Rome to Amdsterdam could be affected. But in any case, sometime on Monday he should be back. I am soooo looking forward to seeing him! He called this morning. They were getting ready for their good-bye feast with the entire family. Broke my heart. He did not sound particularly thrilled to be coming home actually. I asked Ethan what he was doing, he said, "Oh just hanging out with Angelo and Francesco" (my two cousins who are 30 and 28!). I asked what they were doing. "Oh we went into town and had gelato and walked around. Now we are home.". Okay... Kills me. A nine year old boy hangin' with his family - Ethan not speaking Italian and Francesco not speaking ANY English and Angelo somewhere in between. That is great. The point of my story, before I got off topic, is that my mom and dad and Ethan were off to Rome. They booked a B&B and are staying in Rome until the leave Monday. Much easier than having to get up at 3 am and leave Campobasso on Monday. So they are touring Rome. Fantastic!! Ethan did sound very excited about this. I can't wait to see his pics!!

Oh, and on another side note, I talked to my dad's baby sister this morning too (my Zia Caterina whom I adore!!!!) and she said that she was going to miss Ethan something awful and was wondering when I was going to send him back to her again! I cried. She said he was so well behaved. So kind. So lovely to everyone. So polite. So funny. And now so nice and chunky thanks to the daily gelato regime!! I kind of gasped when she said that and then she laughed. Hopefully she is pulling my leg... Hopfully. My kid can stand to gain a few pounds. He really is tall and super skinny. But I could not imagine him chunky in any way!! I don't think I would like that actually... Well, taekwondo will take care of the gelato weight in no time!!

Ciao all.

Because I am bored...

I scrap. Is that bad?? I don't know. I guess it is not the best reason to create... I have nothing else to do so might as well do this... But these days, it is all I have. I miss my boy something terrible and he finally comes home Monday night! Yipee. But these past few days I have been bored. REALLY bored. I am caught up - beyond caught up - on everything. And I have to stop baking just because it is something to do - I am gaining weight!! There is no one else around to eat my creations! And Marc's new schedule means he is not home with us in the evenings anymore. So Bella and I read books or watch movies. Then she goes to bed at 7:15 pm and I am alone... So I scrap. But I don't know if it is accomplishing anything. I am finding that I am losing my joy of it. I still have pictures from the summer that I would like to do, and Ethan's 9th birthday, and the first day of school... And when Ethan gets home I will have TONS of pics to scrap for him. But none of that excites me. Actually, it kind of overwhelms me. I don't feel inspired to do any of this. I feel obligated to do it. That is not fun. That is not good. That is not why I started this hobby 9 years ago! Holy cow. Has it been that long?? I can't believe it. Although I should. I think I have 9 huge scrapbooks on the bookshelf down here in the basement. Ethan has 5 books and Bella has 4. Well, at least I can say that their complete childhood has been documented and one day their children will thank me for that! One day. Still doesn't help me today... I think it is time to turn my energy to a project. Maybe that will get the juices flowing.

Ciao all.

Dinner - Italian Style

How to turn this....

Into this!!

Totally delicious. This is just store bought polenta that has been cut into discs, pan fried, and then broiled in the oven with marina sauce and mozarella cheese and parmesan. If you have never had polenta, I suggest trying it this way first. Polenta is really quite tasteless. It picks up whatever you pair it with. This is like eating a pizza. But way better for you!! Try it. You will like it.

Ciao all.